House expansion project

New ideas, features you wish were in the game.
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Warrior
Evil Iggy
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House expansion project

Post by Warrior » Mon 23.12.2013, 19:22

From the news section:

Background: Our server instance has had a very long life, which in turn means that we've had (and have) quite a few high level players.

While this naturally is good and well, the downside to it is that there aren't many large houses available to the active players these days. Some level 50's find themselves forced stay in the houses they bought at level 30 and I'm sure most will agree that if you've played enough to get to level 50, it's only fair to be "rewarded" with a proper home.

The way that house generation currently works is this; the game generates a certain amount of houses, randomly placed and sized in town and the surrounding suburbs. This is a one time thing, generate once - and you're stuck with it.

Anyway: In order to resolve the shortage of nice big homes we've decided to just increase the size of some existing houses!

New houses!
Level Location Size Volume Price
-50 2,4 14x7 98 1470000
-150 0,0 12x6 72 1080000
-150 0,4 12x8 96 1440000
-250 1,0 12x9 108 2160000
-300 3,4 14x9 126 3150000
-350 0,0 12x8 96 1440000
-350 4,2 17x6 102 2040000
-450 2,2 23x8 184 7360000
-500 1,0 16x10 160 4800000
-500 3,0 20x8 160 4800000
-600 0,0 16x7 112 2240000
-600 0,4 17x7 119 2380000
-600 4,0 14x9 126 3150000

You can see all the houses at the locations listed above. Note that "finishing" the houses (making them suitable for habitation (and trade)) requires quite a bit of manual work, so for now, please do the following:

Post in this thread saying what house(s) you currently have and which of the houses you'd want.

I will wait until I have 3-4 "orders" before actually finishing the houses. The process involves server downtime and we try to avoid that as far as possible.
-- Mangband Project Team Member

Domino
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Domino » Mon 23.12.2013, 19:51

I would love to buy that big house:

-450 2,2 23x8 184 7360000

I currently have houses at -150 1,4 7x8 and -50 3,4 7x6 - both quite small in comparison.

I more than have enough cash for it :D - and yes, I've had both houses since I was in the 30's :P

-Haradaur
King of the Hill Baby!

Bandur
Clear Yeek
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Bandur » Tue 24.12.2013, 03:17

I am interested in the 126- square at -600ft
I currently own one other rather chunky house at -600 foot and a tiny little one in town
I am a little short on money as I just bought some nice shiny speed boots, but should have enough by the time the houses become availilble =D

Avenger
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Avenger » Tue 24.12.2013, 14:54

Heh, when I saw that "very long life" bit, I thought a new instance was inbound.

I suppose that will wait until there's code in place to solve the housing problem without taking the servers offline and manually editing the houses?
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Gorom
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Gorom » Sun 29.12.2013, 00:15

I would like that nice -600 0,4 17x7 119 2380000 house. I dont have the money for it but can get it somewhat quickly... so yays!

Bandur
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Bandur » Sun 29.12.2013, 03:00

I have the money now ;D

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Warrior
Evil Iggy
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Warrior » Tue 31.12.2013, 18:03

Another thing: Do tell other players who might have the need about this, I figure not all players read the webpage/forums frequently.
-- Mangband Project Team Member

Bandur
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Bandur » Wed 01.01.2014, 02:30

Argh... I got so excited when I saw another post on this thread. ...(there is some creepy mage and a poltergeist lurking in "my" house and I want them evicted)...

PowerWyrm
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Re: House expansion project

Post by PowerWyrm » Wed 01.01.2014, 15:06

Warrior, don't forget that you cannot draw houses like that with the DM char, since you will put inside plain floor instead of house floor. To avoid monsters like poltergeists (which also pick up stuff iirc) to phase into houses and wipe player house contents you need to mark those new floor square as "icky". This will require stopping the server and flagging the proper part of the server savefile.

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Re: House expansion project

Post by Warrior » Wed 01.01.2014, 16:59

I've already created and moved into (with among other things two PDSM's at stake) the first "expanded" house, so I'm fairly sure I've got the the process right. The house is still full of shiny things after a week of players trying to phase into it :)

But since documentation is a good thing, here is a brief description of the steps involved. It's meant for owners of other mangband servers or people who have a server locally.

On the server using the Dungeon Master character:
1) Find a house that you want to expand.
2) Use the Dungeon Master commands ('&') to create new permanent walls for the house.
3) Use 'Floor mode' inside
You don't *have* to use the Dungeon Master to create the walls or the floor, but in my experience it makes it easier. Editing the server save file can be a bit overwhelming and if you mess things up, it will probably not end well.Additionally you might want to buy the house with a test character. This will make it easier to identify the correct house in the server save, see below.

4) Open the 'server' save file in lib/save. Use a good text editor such as Notepad++ or EditPad

There's basically three areas in the server save file that must be changed:

5) The house entry in the <houses> section.
5.1) The x and y coordinates. These are the four corners of your house. Note that 0,0 is in the top left corner of the map. Depending on in what direction you've expanded your house, you may need to add and/or subtract from the x and y coordinates. If you've bought the house with a test character it's easy to find the right house, if not, you'll have to look at the depth/size.
5.2) The price (optional)

6) The <features> of the correct <dungeon level> section. All static levels will have an entry here. If your server has had a long life you might have a lot of these (we currently have over 100). They start with the lowest (most negative depth).
6.1) Inspecting the <features> area will suggest the basic "shape" of that level. Verify that the houses that you've "expandeded" with the Dungeon Master seem to be correctly created. That is " 1" surrounded by "c3": Floor spaces surrounded by permanent walls.

7) The <info> section of the same <dungeon level>. These can not be modified in any way by the Dungeon Master, so you will have to make sure you get this section right. If not, players will be able to phase into your house and steal all your shiny things.

To sum it up: Create the house with the DM, take down the server, open the server save file, make changes to the houses, features and info sections, save the file, start the server and that should be it.

Having written this down, I expect clever coders around the world to find an error in my workflow in order to steal all my loot. Good luck :)
-- Mangband Project Team Member

Gorom
Skeleton Hobgoblin
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Gorom » Sun 19.01.2014, 21:31

Ayo! I got the MONEY!!!!!!!!I got my 2+ million and ready for my big boy house! good bye small crappy house and hello world!

Jo
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Jo » Sat 22.02.2014, 20:05

Hi, only just learned about this :0) Please oh please may I have -150 0,0 .. I have had my bigger house at -300 1,0 since I could first afford it and have struggled with the size of my second house as want a nearer town house. I have the money now.
Jo x

QualtaBlade
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Re: House expansion project

Post by QualtaBlade » Sun 23.02.2014, 21:29

Hey warrior,

I am interested in the two house at -500 but wondered if you would be able to help with the tree problem :)

I don't mind digging them but I think they just grow back don't they?

I have the money for both too :)

thanks QB
Last edited by QualtaBlade on Sun 23.02.2014, 21:38, edited 2 times in total.

Jo
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Jo » Sun 23.02.2014, 21:36

As this is a 'wish list' :0) I would like to request two!
-150 0,0
and
-150 0,4
I have money for both houses now and to clarify have had my big house at -300 since approx. level 25.

Thaaaaaanks
Jo x

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Warrior
Evil Iggy
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Re: House expansion project

Post by Warrior » Sun 02.03.2014, 18:24

The houses have been finished. Send me an email, a message here in the forums or drop by when you see me online to complete the transaction :)
-- Mangband Project Team Member

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